To:INESSA ARMAND

Written:Written prior to September 28, 1914Published:First published in 1960 inVoprosy Istorii KPSSNo. 4.

      Sent from Berne to Les Avants (Switzerland).

      Printed from the original.

      Written in English.Source:Lenin
	  Collected Works,

      Progress Publishers,[1977],

      Moscow,Volume 43,

      pages432-433a.Translated:Martin Parker and Bernard IsaacsTranscription\Markup:R. CymbalaPublic Domain:Lenin Internet Archive

      (2005).You may freely copy, distribute,
	display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and
	commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet
	Archive” as your source.•README

DearFriend,

Hugeousregards from all of us to Abram.Let him visit
friends in Lausanne.He will find interesting documents
			      there[1]and I will address a demand to you to translate these documents in French
& send toSentinelle(and to me send also with an
occasion).[5](What party? Where published? Is it a decent organ?
Please send me one copy of the most characteristic issues of this paper.)

Iam extremely anxious & angry with the position of the European
socialists in the present War. My conviction is that all—& the German
socialists first of all & chief of all—got “chauvinists”. It is
quite insupportable to read German and French
(l’Humanité!!) socialist papers!! Extreme “chauvinism"! I
am afraid that many, too many socialists, have lost their head (if I dare
say so) in the present crisis, and that in the last end it is the
opportunism which is responsible for this extreme “infamie” of the
European socialism. I am told Martynov (liquid.)  in Zurich has had a
conference (private, I suppose) and firstly at tacked German
socialists—but later on (the second day of discussion) a changé
d’avis (sons l’influence funeste d’Axelrod) et a denie tout ce qu’il avait
dit plus
			      abord!!![2]Shame!! We must in that or other manner tell our opinion—but it is
extremely difficult, very difficult in such times.... Please let Abram go
to Lausanne and bring you news.

Grigoryhas arrived with his family.We are remaining in
Berne.A dull little town, but...better than Galicia
and the best there is!! Never mind.We shall adjust
ourselves.I am poking around the libraries—I have missed
			     them.[3]Very very kind regards and hearty shakehands. Please write more about
yourself.

Yourstruly,W. I.

Ihope we shall soon meet? Do you think so?

P.S.What is weather in Les Avants? Do you make walks?

Doyoufeedbetter now? Have you books? papers?

Arrangementsshould be made in Lausanne to collect all Swiss
newspapers in French containing socialist comments on the war, on the
German and French socialists, etc.Let Abram tackle
this.No effort should be spared in collecting
			   documents!![4]

[1]["*"DUPLICATE1 OF 2.]* The italicised passages marked with an asterisk are in Russian in
the original.—Ed.

[2]Hechanged his opinion (under the pernicious influence of Axelrod) and
denied everything he had said before.—Ed.

[3]["*"DUPLICATE2 OF 2.]* The italicised passages marked with an asterisk are in Russian in
the original.—Ed.

[4]Thisparagraph is in Russian in the original.—Ed.

[5]Thereference is to the Manifesto of the C.C. of the R.S.D.L.P.  “The
War and Russian Social-Democracy” and “An Answer to Emile Vandervelde”
which Lenin planned to publish in French in the newspaperLa
Sentinelle.

LaSentinelle—organ of the Swiss Social-Democratic
organisation of the Neuchâtel canton (French Switzerland), founded in
1890. During the First World War, the newspaper adopted an internationalist
stand; On November 13, 1914, the paper (No. 265) published an abridged
version of the Manifesto of the C.C., R.S.D.L.P. “The War and Russian
Social-Democracy”.

Theanswer to Vandervelde in connection with his telegram to the
R.S.D.L.P. Duma group was published in the newspaperSotsial-DemokratNo. 33, November 1, 1914.